Posts Tagged Philistines

1 Samuel 6 talks about how the Phillies returned the ark to Israel, and at a great cost – not only in lives lost because of taking it, but the “guilt” offering that had to accompany it on its return.

Philistines Return the ark of God to Israel

1 When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD ? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”

It got me thinking how costly it is to mess with God. I’m reminded of the scripture that says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

It also got me thinking about the whole concept of “guilt offering.” Not sure how applicable it is since the Phillies were not God followers to begin with, and they stole something from God. But – have I stolen anything from God? Is it more costly to give back PLUS the guilt offering?

I probably already mentioned this, but the books of Samuel in the OT are some of my favorite Bible passages. They read like a gladiator movie or Indiana Jones or something.

Dagon fallen before the ark of God - Lego style

I am especially fond of this chapter where the Philistines put the ark of God in their temple next to their Dagon god. In the morning, the Dagon had fallen on its face before the ark. So, the Phillies put Dagon back up. The next morning, same thing – Dagon fell over before the ark, but this time his head and limbs broke off and were lying in the threshold.

After that, they kept moving the ark around because where ever it went, the people of that area were inflicted with terrible devastation like tumors. Finally, they realized it would be better to send it back to Israel.

It got me thinking about what kind of abomination do we carry with us? Is there anything in our lives, or in our homes that is not pleasing to God? Are there things that tempt us that we keep within reach? Maybe there are things that aren’t bad per se, but rob us of time or focus. Perhaps it’s time to send them back to the enemy because they’re causing devastation in our lives.